Major events in the American history, which shaped the modern United States are decisions taken by the U.S. Supreme Court in controversial cases. The most important and most heavily debated were, for example, cases: Roe v. Wade, Plessy v. Ferguson or Miranda v. Arizona.
The Roe v. Wade case from 1987 made the abortion legal in the United States. A woman named Roe argued that the fact that abortion is illegal violates the constitutional right to privacy. The decision of the Supreme Court was that she should be allowed to get rid of her pregnancy. It was a big issue in the USA at that time and the debate continues (for example nowadays Roe changed her mind and is against abortion). In the next legal case, Webster v. Reproduction Health Services in 1989, it was ruled that the abortion might be financed from the public money in Missouri.
Some decisions of the Supreme Court changed the laws which were established by earlier decision of the Court. They influenced the life of big groups of people. The case Plessy v. Ferguson approved the racial segregation in public places or facilities ("separate but equal"). It was argued and decided in 1896. The segregation was abolished only in 1954, when the U.S. Supreme Court decreed against that doctrine. The consequence of this was final realisation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution (from 1868) which stated that all persons should be equally protected by the law.
The right to remain silent in front of the court or a police, which is known as "Miranda rights", was granted to the Americans through the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. It was during the case Miranda v. Arizona in 1966. Miranda, a man accused of being a kidnapper, stated that his confession was obtained thanks to illegal means. During the confession he signed a paper stating that he knows his legal rights. But this was also made under pressure. The Supreme Court decided that everyone has right not to confess and to have a lawyer. The last one will be provided by the state if a person cannot afford him. All those rights must be read to the suspect before the arrestement take place.
It is easily seen that the Supreme Court is a very important institution. Its decisions affect the lives of many Americans. They are almost always heavily debated. The Court can drastically change the law in the country, sometimes even making its own decision from the past illegal, like in the case Plessy v. Ferguson. Its decisions may be shaped by the belief of the contemporary people but as the beliefs change, so are the decisions.
